Hummus

Recipe

I first discovered hummus in Cyprus over 30 years ago when holidaying there with my parents (my father was a diplomat) and have been a fan ever since. Hummus has now become one of Australias favourite dips and dehydrating it provides a great source of lightweight calories when hiking. I’m pretty traditional in how I eat hummus using flat bread that makes a great lunch or if I’m really lazy will just eat it with a spoons straight. This recipe can be made in bulk and stored until needed.

Serves: 4

Approximate serving (dry weight): 77 grams

Approximate calories/serving: 261 calories

Ingredients

800grams Tinned chick peas (2 X 400 gram tins drained and and rinsed)

1/4 cup Lemon juice (you may need more than this if the mixture is to dry to blend properly)

2 teaspoons Minced garlic (add more or less depending on your taste. Its a good idea to have your tent mate eat this as well to reduce complains about garlic breath!)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil (use when rehydrating not when making otherwise the mixture will take much longer to dry)

Preparation Instructions

Add all the ingredients (except the olive oil) to a food processor

Blend until the mixture is smooth adding lemon juice in small amounts as you go

Spread onto a solid plastic sheet that comes with your food dehydrator. Make sure the mix is even to minimise the drying time

Dry on a medium heat (55 degrees celsius if you are using and oven) for approximately 7-9 hours. Cut through the wet mix a few hours in to allow the warm air to get right into the mix

Once the mixture is relatively solid and dry put into a mixing bowl and squash all the lumps until you are left with mix that resembles fine biscuit crumbs

Put back into the dehydrator for a further hour to remove the last of the moisture

Going with a mortar or blend again to breakdown the large lumps

Store in an airtight container until needed. To use split into the desired meal size (approximately 75 grams of dry mix will provide 4 serves). This recipe will provide 4 meals for the average person, 3 if you are really hungry. I’m a big eater and am comfortable with this mix doing 4 meals. If your a small eater this will make 5 meals. I have stored the dehydrated mix for 8 weeks and not had any problem with the mixture going off so long as the mixture was fully dry and the container is well sealed

Rehydrate and serve with flatbread

To rehydrate

Add the dry mix to a container e.g. peanut butter jar

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and mix well through the dried hummus mixture. The olive oil provides that rich texture and also adds calories

Slowly add small amounts of water until you reach the desired consistency (approximately 1/3+ cup water). While most ultralight meals will often require water at almost a 1:1 ratio this recipe is an exception requiring very little water to bring it back to life compared the amount of dried mix

The dip is ready to eat as soon as you have added the oil and water

Eat straight or add to flat bread, corn chips or dry biscuits

Hummus mixed in food processor ready to dry

Spread onto plastic sheet of a food drier ready to be dehydrated

After a couple of hours use a spoon to cut into the semi dry mix to break it up and allow extra air movement

Fully dried on the rack but still a bit lumpy

Place into a bowl and grind the large lumps out with a pestle. Alternatively place back into a dry food processor to crush the last of the lumps

Store in an airtight container until ready to use. I have kept this mix for 8 weeks without any problems provided the mix is fully dry and you use a good container

Place into a container then add the oil and water. Add water slowly as there can be a fine line between just right and to wet.

Serve on flat bread, corn chips or dry biscuits or eat straight with a spoon. The mixture is easy to eat as soon as you have added the oil and water